Sled heads find downhill glory at local parks

To many in the metro, snow blows. The frosty weather and ice are just annoyances to suffer on the way to the mailbox and an extra irritation to survive on the drive to work.

But to some, like Mary and Tom Dempsey, crisp air and packed powder mean one thing: sledding.

Although Tom Dempsey said his “glory days” of sledding are in the past and center around memories of the much deeper drifts of his native Wisconsin, the Oklahoma City couple are doing everything they can to pass on the wholesome winter activity to their 9-year-old son, Brady.

“There’s just nothing better,” Tom Dempsey said, watching his son trudge up an icy hill at Douglas Park, near N.W. 45th Street and N. Walker Avenue. “Getting outside, sliding down a hill like a maniac “¦ crashing, laughing. It’s good for kids and better than them sitting in the house.”

LOCATIONSThe bowl-shaped Douglas Park has been touted as one of the best sledding spots in OKC. Will Rogers Park, 3400 N. Portland, is another metro sledding mecca, and features large, wide hills usually reserved for Frisbee golf.

While mountains of fluffy snow always make for good sledding in Wisconsin, Mary Dempsey said Oklahoma’s winter weather, which usually comes as ice, can make for even better ” and faster ” sledding action.

“It’s not as pretty to look at, but you can really get going on the ice,” she said. “It also hurts more when you fall, but that’s part of the fun.” “Joe Wertz